The Walls Between Us
by AyYouFiction
Summary: We've seen Roman's crash story, but what about Drake's? This is a look at life of an Atrian growing up in the Sector from the time of the crash to the events of the show.
1. I Came Crashing Down

_There doesn't seem to be enough Draylor stories. Had to contribute to correct that! ;)_

_These are the Drake years. Once I'm done with the chapters of everything that happens before the events of the show, I may venture into fill-in-the-blank scenes for the episodes. But for now, I hope you guys enjoy._

_xtra note: This story will, at times, have explicit violence and sex but as per the rules of this site, I'm keeping it clean here. If you are of age and want to see the unedited story, see my profile for the location._

_I own nothing of this world, just playing around with what ifs within it._

* * *

The community center of the ship was filled with people; it felt as though the entire ship had decided to come and relax and socialize in the place he and his friends called the "play area." Even the Iksen and his family were there, his son playing with his small daughter in the mist jets.

His best friend, Sonya, threw the ball, and he ran to catch it. He was always the best at catching, but this time he couldn't because the ship shook, trembling under everyone's feet until there was no one standing. Sonya started to cry even as the adults rushed in on wobbly legs to scoop up their sons and daughters.

His father was there as well with a hand outstretched for him to take, and pulled him into his strong arms. He never felt as safe as he did when in his father's arms.

They rushed back to their pod, and his father set him on the floor near the bulkhead where the safety straps were . Any other time, he barely noticed the contraptions. It was only once since they'd first left their homeworld that his mother and father explained to him that they were for emergencies, for his safety. It mean that there was a disaster, and now, his father positioned him close to the wall until the straps snaked and coiled their way around his body until they clicked in place, hardening into a secure harness.

His father knelt beside him, but even then was still much taller. "Stay here, Direhik," his father told him just before the door to their pod opened and his mother rushed inside, her hair disheveled and several bruises darkening on her light skin.

"Saroya? What's happened?" her father asked her, straightening himself to stand with her.

Direhik couldn't hear all of what they were saying, just bits of words. "…brother…betrayed us all…crashing…inhabited planet!"

"Mother," Direhik called to her, his voice cracking with his increasing fear, "what's 'inhabited'?"

"It means that there are people on it already, my sweet boy," she said to him, kneeling to meet him eye to eye. With a smile, one that didn't quite reach her eyes, she caressed his chin. "Don't worry. We'll be alright, but now you must be my brave boy. Can you do that?"

He nodded his head and wrapped his arms around his mother as best he could against the straps. The ship shook violently and they heard the groan of metal. His mother stood up, trying very had not to fall back to the floor, and reached for his father. "The ship's navigation system will try to land us as best it can," his mother said to his father.

The groaning in the walls started again until there was a different sound, a screech above them. The overhead panel buckled, and his father pushed his mother into the wall with the straps before he disappeared under an avalanche of metal. The tendrils snaked around his mother's body even as she struggled to break free, but it was already too late. There was no sign of his father, no movement under the pile of metal panels.

"Direhik!" his mother yelled at him to get his attention. "Look at me!"

He'd been looking for some sign of his father that never came, so he turned to look at his mother. "Remember," she said to him, eyes wide and desperate, "you're my brave boy."

He nodded and the lights flickered until the room plunged into darkness.

* * *

All Direhik was aware of was the sound of his own breathing, as shallow and quick as it was, and the smell of scorched metal. He couldn't hear anything else, he couldn't see anything, but he was alive. At least he knew that.

Wiring somewhere across the room sparked, creating some light for only a moment before he was in darkness again, and then the emergency lights slowly increased their glow until he could see his mother beside him and the pile of metal where his father was last seen.

There was another spark from the wires that sizzled and crackled, waking his mother. Her eyes snapped open as though she'd just remembered what had happened to them, and they focused on the place where his father lay buried.

"Mother?" Direhik called to her. Her wild eyes shifted to him, then softened. "Direhik!"

She scrambled to pressed the right pressure points on her harness to release herself from them, then rushed to him to help him do the same. There was no time to talk or cry and anything Direhik wanted to do. She pulled him quickly across the pod until he pulled back. "Mother? What about Father?"

His mother glanced at the pile of metal then closed her eyes and pressed her lips tightly together until they formed one thin line. He knew she wanted to cry, but she wouldn't allow herself to do it. She never let herself cry.

Direhik turned to the metal as well, only to see by the glow of the emergency lights an arm with a deep gash from wrist to elbow.

Once again his mother pulled him, but this time he didn't pull back.

They'd made it to the Community Center where they could find several of the exits of the ship, but there were people laying around with their eyes opened but they weren't moving and weren't seeing. Among them was Sonya and her parents. Direhik grabbed his mother's hand tightly, then wrapped his free arm around hers. "Sonya?" he called out to his friend, but she didn't move. He wanted to be brave, but it was getting harder.

It was only after they made it out of the exit that they heard the weapons fire. All around them, his tribe was fighting the people that lived on the planet, but they were losing. He watched as so many of his tribe fell until the people of the planet approached them, circled them with his mother standing ready to fight. When they pointed their weapons at them both, she reconsidered and dropped down to her knees shielding Direhik with her body and the tears trickled down her face for the first time he'd ever seen and dropped down onto his shoulder.

* * *

_From what I could piece together about the language, I came up with "Direhik" as his Atrian name and is pronounced (at least in my mind) dee-ray-heek. If you've figured out that it sounds a little like Drake, then you're absolutely correct! Comes into play later._


	2. We've Survived This Far

_First off, let's take a moment to mourn the show. It was just finding its legs and had them cut from under them._

_The Sondiv language was created by David J. Peterson. In this story I won't be using it too much. Most cases, the quotes will be labeled as this language or that, but there will be a few time where I will use Sondiv. When I do, I'll try to use what's established and available. What I couldn't/can't find, I'll wing it!_

_I don't think the use of Atrian ID wristbands was __ consistent__ until the second episode. In the first, only the 7 were seen with them, and then the second episode had everyone submitting their wristbands for SEU guards to scan. I'm going with everyone wearing the bands because it makes more sense._

* * *

His mother told him that the people of this world were called humans. It didn't matter what they were called because all he knew about them was that they didn't have any markings on their skin and always scowled at him and his people.

"We're going to our new home the humans built for us," his mother told him while they packed their possessions recently returned to them from the humans assigned to inspect and approve them. They didn't have much, only what little they were allowed to collect from the wreckage.

"The Hwatab advised them, so it should be very much like our homes on Atria," she said to him with one of her not-so-full smiles while folding their clothes. That was the only kind of smile she'd given him since the crash.

The human warrior standing near them, charged with escorting them outside, shifted from one foot to the other and constantly eyed the exit until he told them something in his language. Direhik didn't understood what the man said, but he could guess that the man grew tired of standing there waiting.

"You're my brave boy, my little warrior?" she asked Direhik as she stuffed the last of their clothes into a human-issued bag then held out her hand to him. He nodded and took her hand, and both walked out of where they'd lived for twenty-two Earth days.

If the Hwatab helped the humans, then their new homes were sure to be wonderful. They couldn't be worse than the structures the humans called "barracks" with everyone sleeping in large rooms filled with beds practically side by side. That was far from how Atrians were used to living, a far cry from the individual living areas that they called "pods." These rooms were too large, too open, and he always felt exposed as though eyes, human and Atrian, were constantly on him and his mother.

Outside, there were several large, tarp-covered vehicles decorated in various shades of green and brown waiting for them, and their human warrior escort loaded him and his mother, along with several other Atrians, into one of them. When they couldn't fit any more into it, they began loading the other vehicles with more Atrians until all of them were full and the vehicles rumbled to life.

His was the first to leave the gates of the barracks and down the road into the town of the humans. Both he and his mother looked through the opening in the back—the only opening to the outside for the—while his mother held him close to her. Humans had gathered on either side of the path the vehicles traveled, desperate for a glimpse of his people that were hidden for days from the rest of the world.

He hadn't seen humans other than their warriors, and he was relieved that many didn't have the scowls but seemed curious. It was the first time he'd ever seen a human child, and there were several of them standing with adult humans he guessed were their parents. There was one in particular that he could not look away from.

For a moment, he thought to pull away from his mother and call to her, call for his friend, Sonya. The girl looked so much like her, but there were no markings on her skin, and then he remembered. This girl was just a human girl, and Sonya died in the crash.

The vehicles continued until they had long since cleared the humans and their dwellings and came to an expanse of fence, only to slow down as they passed through them.

Direhik noticed the construction by the fences and wondered what the humans were building, but he didn't have time to think on it much before his vehicle slowed to a stop. Atrians were unloaded from their vehicles and human warriors stepped forward, surrounding them with their guns and scowls until all were gathered into an open area between the towers of stacked metal boxes with railings and steps reaching several stories.

He'd expected something close to the homes they had on Atria, but these were disappointing. Atrian homes were honeycombs carved into stone with compartments Atrians called "pods" for each family. They were beautiful under the Atrian sun, but these were not beautiful. They were old and rusted, dirty and worn as far as the eye could see upwards.

"Alyakson," said the human woman, Gloria Garcia, standing on the first level of railings as she looked down at the gathered Atrians. She smiled warmly and always seemed friendly enough when she walked through the barracks from time to time, but Direhik wondered if she actually spent time with Atrians. If she did, someone would have told her that her greeting was too formal. That most people simply said "yakson" when they were trying to be friendly.

The woman continued to speak, but in the human language most of the humans they'd encountered spoke. Their Iksen stood beside her—the first time they'd seen their leader since before the crash— translating for her. The stacked metal boxes were to be their new homes. It was the best they could provide in such short notice, but there were promises that there would be improvements in time.

With that information, the gathered people were instructed to form lines according to the order of their wristbands. One human warrior called Direhik's mother, and they joined their particular line of Atrians.

"Come with me," the human warrior said to his line in his humans words. They were the few words Direhik understood, having heard it many times before. Several human warriors followed closely at the rear of the line.

Direhik held his mother's hand as they walked towards the structure of stacked metal boxes, up the stairs leading to the first level of doors. Each time they passed a door, the human warrior would call out a name and a family would enter. By the tenth door, Direhik and his mother were called and they entered their new pod. Inside was just as it was on the outside. The metal was rusted in several places and what paint there did little to brighten the room.

The human warrior handed his mother keys and left, closing the door behind him.

"Why don't we take a look at the other rooms?" his mother suggested before offering her hand for him to take. He took it, and they walked hand in hand through each room. His mother had one room for herself, he had another, and then there was the central room. It wasn't as beautiful as their home on Atria, and it wasn't as bright and cheerful as their pod on the ship. But it was better than the barracks, and perhaps, if he they could make it comfortable enough, he would see his mother smile again. Without his father, it was his responsibility to help her through this.

"It'll be fine, Mother," he looked up at her and smiled.

* * *

It was the first morning after sleeping in his pod, and Direhik was excited for it. He rushed to brush his teeth, shrugged out of his sleeping clothes and shimmied into his play clothes. His mother sat at the bar in what the humans called the "kitchen" staring into her cup of tea.

"Where are you going?" she asked him with one of those smiles that he knew she really didn't feel.

"I'm going to go play! I hear the other children outside!" He was excited. For the first time since before the crash, he was very excited. When the humans kept them in the barracks, the children were allowed to play at designated times of the day only, and even then, parents were too afraid to let their children wander off too far.

His mother nodded and her smile faltered before she managed to force it back in place. "Have fun."

He ran out of the door and down the stairs, remembering the way to the ground. By the time he got to the first floor, he could see the children playing below, and they were playing ball! The excitement he felt was dulled when he remembered Sonya, but his mother told him to remember and honor his friend by living his life to the fullest.

"I can play catch!" he called to the children below. That was a way to honor her.

By the time he'd reached the ground, ducking and weaving through railings and jumping on metal overhangs, the children were staring at him, the one with the ball clutching it tightly to her chest. He smiled at her, one of his brightest smiles, and told her, "Throw it as far as you can and watch me catch it!" He nodded for her to agree, but she didn't move.

Her eyes darted from one face to another around her as though asking for help until an older child walked up to them, standing between them. "We're not going to play with you!" the older boy told him. "We don't play with the son of the pilot who caused the crash!"

In the barracks, he'd seen the eyes of the people around them, always looking, always frowning. His mother no longer spoke to anyone but her closest friend, Vega, and even then she preferred to share no more than a few words. They blamed his mother for everything that they'd lost and their imprisoned life on Earth.

"It's not my mother's fault!" he argued, having to tiptoe to get his face closer to the older boy's.

The boy didn't answer but sneered at him before giving Direhik a shove, forcing him to the ground in a cloud of dust. The boy laughed at him, and then the other children nervously followed suit until they were all laughing at him. Direhik pulled himself up and rushed toward the boy, ramming his head into his stomach.

It caught the boy off-guard, but not enough. He recovered quickly and punched Direhik in the eye. And then Direhik tried to step back as another punch came, but he tripped and landed on the ground once again, giving the older boy the opportunity to pounce on him, continuing his attack. Direhik tried to shield himself with his arms from the punches, but he wasn't quick or strong enough. By the time the Sector (guards) pulled the boy off of Direhik, his face hurt, and he tasted blood in his mouth.

His mother stood at the door of their pod as the Sector (guards) handed him over to her. They grumbled something to her in their language before walking away.

She didn't hesitate to take his face in her hands and press a kiss to his forehead.

"Was the crash your fault, Mother?" The tears began to form in her eyes before she pulled him into a tight hug. He didn't want to believe that it was his mother's fault, that she caused the death of Sonya and so many others, that she was the reason why this horrible human world among these horrible human people was all that they had.

"No, Direhik, but everyone believes that I did."

"Can't you tell them that it's not your fault?"

She pulled away from him, and he saw how her eyes darted to the ceiling for only a moment before looking at him again. "No one would believe me."

* * *

_I'm always curious to know what people think of the chapters. I'm trying to fill-in-the-blanks when it comes to Atrian experience and culture, and since we won't have any more info on them, I'd like to know if this is actually interesting and true to the series (as short lived as it was). So I welcome reviews or PMs to let me know._


	3. We Fight, I Learn

_I originally had no intention of distinguishing Sondiv from English other than stating it explicitly, but then again, I didn't have the foresight to realized I'd have mixed sentences. I had to go back and reformat all Sondiv words. English words will be normal because they will take over dialog soon. Sorry for the changes._

_Note to anonymous reviewers: I can't answer your questions because the FFNet system can't, and I try to keep these note inside the story as short as possible. However, you can leave an anonymous comment at the other location (see my profile) and I can answer those. Either way, I thank you for taking the time to review._

* * *

"_A broken lamp isn't worth that much. What kind of idiot would buy broken goods at that price?_" Direhik's mother's voice rose in the middle of the Merchant's Square, drawing the attention of those nearby. The man looked around nervously and tried to offer his mother a friendly smile, but it seemed to Direhik more like the man had a belly ache.

His mother walked away from his table with an exasperated sigh with Direhik in tow, but he could see the smirk on his mother's face. They didn't make it halfway down the path everyone called Merchant's Lane before the man called out to her, "_Wait!_"

She didn't stop until the man called out to her once more, and Direhik saw the smirk she wore turn into a knowing smile before it disappeared from her face entirely. She turned back to face him with her brows raised, waiting for his reason for calling her.

_"I'll give it to you for two dollars!_" he told her. "_You could probably fix it or find someone to fix it for you cheaply._"

His mother walked up to the man and handed him two of the strange papers humans used for currency. The man smiled as though he'd made a great bargain, but little did he know, Direhik's mother had planned to use the lamp for something else. The two dollars were nothing compared to the hundreds she would get after she finished her work for the Swamad grow-house.

With the lamp tucked under her arm and her other hand holding his, his mother reminded him, "_That man didn't know he had the last lamp in the Sector, but his loss is our gain. We are Vwasak, Direhik. Always have the upper hand._"

He nodded to his mother, and they continued though the Sector until they reached the underground loading dock of what was once an old factory. It was one of the few open spaces in the Sector large enough to grow all of the Swamad's plants.

Among the thousands that were there—Atrian plants saved and nurtured by the Swamad tribe—his mother's best friend had been waiting for them. "I have the last part," his mother raised the lamp to Vega who smiled at them.

"_Good. I didn't know how long I could keep them alive like this._"

Many Atrian plants didn't grow in soil like Earth plants, but they couldn't afford the equipment made by humans to grow them in water. Instead, they had to build what they needed, and his mother was the best to do it.

Direhik looked around him, hoping to see Vega's daughter so he could play while he waited for his mother to finish her work, but he hadn't seen her for days. Even though Eteri didn't care what others said about him and his mother, he still had the fear that she would end their friendship, eventually giving in to the pressure of being friends with the son of Saroya. And then he would be left with no friends at all.

"_There,_" his mother said just before she flipped a lever and the entire center of the loading dock lit up with wide, long trays supported by large reservoirs of water. Vega smiled widely, very satisfied with his mother's work.

"_This exceeds my expectations, Saroya. You never cease to amaze me._"

_"Well,_" his mother said, cocking a brow at her friend, "_you can amaze me with my payment._"

The two women laughed with one another before Vega reached into her pocket and offered his mother several slips of those human papers, dollars. He saw one-hundred printed on some of them.

Outside, the sirens blared once every few seconds which was the signal for the Sector to gather, that there was an official announcement for them. He and his mother, along with Vega behind them, walked outside to get a view of the holographic projection above the Sector Square.

Gloria Garcia's smiling face hovered above the square, large and cast with a bluish tint as it usually was. So many bodies crowded the streets to see, to hear the announcement.

"_Yakson!_" the human woman said cheerfully to all from the screen, and Direhik almost laughed. It seemed she did spend time with Atrians afterall.

As she spoke with her wide smile, her words were translated into Kwandon, the letters of his people. They scrawled across the bottom of the projection, and he could only read some of it: _attend…learn…human_. After it ended, he turned to his mother, but she didn't look at him. Instead, her eyes met with Vega's and his mother's friend sneered at where the projection had been before she turned and stalked back into the grow-house.

It was then that his mother looked at him. "_They want you and the other children to go for instruction to a place called _'school.'_ You'll learn about the local humans and their culture,_" she said to him with one of her smiles that he was more used to seeing than he wanted to be, the kind that was forced.

"_Do I have to go?_" he asked, hoping that there was some way he could stay with her, but she looked looked away for a moment before leveling her eyes back to his. She didn't say anything; her mouth just hung open as though she wanted to tell him that he didn't have to, but she couldn't.

Direhik was going to be stuck in whatever a school was with the other Atrian children that wanted nothing to do with him, learning about a people who wanted nothing to do with his.

* * *

Atrian parents gathers with their children at the entrance of the newly built structure the humans called a school. Even the Iksen limped into the crowd with his children. Direhik's mother told him that the man was shot during the crash. His daughter held his hand tightly, jumping with energy and excitement while his son hobbled along with the help of…

"_Eteri!_" Direhik called out, and Vega's daughter looked up, and her eyes scanned the crowd before she found Direhik. She gave him a smile before concentrating on her task again. The boy she was helping, the Iksen's son, had dark circles around her eyes and hunched over as though someone had punched him. When Eteri helped him lift a little to start walking up the stairs, Direhik noticed the bandages at one side of his waist.

An Atrian woman walked out of the school and told the waiting parents that it was time, that the children were to enter, and with nervous eyes, worried faces, and some crying, the children started their journey into the building. Direhik clung to his mother nervously, but she pulled him away to kneel down to his height. Taking his face in her hands, she smiled at him. "_You're my brave boy, my warrior,_" she reminded him. "_You can do this._"

He wanted to believe her. For her, he would try to be, so he nodded, turned towards the school, and entered it without looking back. He was brave, he reminded himself. He was a warrior, he chanted in a whisper to himself. He was from the Vwasak tribe afterall, but as he walked down the hallway that the staff and SEU guards funneled all of them through, he couldn't help but shrink from their eyes on him. No matter where he looked, the children around him were staring, whispering, frowning. He was so focused on them that he didn't see the leg sticking out in front of him until it was too late, and he fell to the floor.

The boy that caused his fall separated himself from the others, and Direhik recognized him as the boy from the second day in the Sector. "_You should've stayed with your mother,_" the boy said while taking a step forward and Direhik saw the fist coming at him. He folded his arms the way his mother had taught him, shielding himself from the punch. In retaliation, Direhik punched him so quickly that the boy stood there startled for a moment before he held his jaw and nodded to his friends at the side of them.

Two of his friends grabbed Direhik and held him while the boy struck him freely. It was like the first day in the Sector all over again, with how much his body and his pride hurt. With the last bit of strength he had, he tried to pull away from the boys' grip, but they're arms were solidly strapped around his. There was nothing left to do but let them have their fun and hopefully leave him well enough to stand on his own. The last thing he wanted was for them to bring his mother to the school for him.

Direhik sagged in their grip, taking each punch and kick while repeating to himself that he was of the Vwasak tribe. He could endure this...he could endure anything. A voice rang out through the hall, and it wasn't one of the SEU guards or the staff that had been standing nearby the whole time. It was the Iksen's son standing beside a very worried looking Eteri, and in back of them was his sister.

"_Stop!_" he yelled, but instead of a boy's voice, it sounded more like an Iken's command. It might as well have been because the boys immediately released Direhik and backed away. The rest of the children, the ones that crowded around them during the fight, parted to allow the Iksen's children and Eteri through. Exhausted and sore and finally released, Direhik sank to the floor to catch his breath.

Eteri, as she'd done outside of the school, had been supporting the Iksen's son, but she turned to the Iksen's daughter to support her brother. She then rushed to Direhik, shrugging the sack she carried on her back off and kneeling beside him. "_Are you okay?_" Eteri asked him while shoving her hand into the sack and rooting around in it before pulling out small bundle of leaves. One was plucked from the bundle, and she offered it to him with a worried smile. "_This will help._"

"_Better, now,_" he told her, he told them, with a nod of thanks and a smile. He couldn't help it. It was the truth. He did feel better that he still had a friend somewhere in the entire school. Perhaps even three. Eteri tried to help him up but he shook his head at her offer, trying not to look even more weak in the eyes of the Iksen's children.

It was only then that the staff and SEU guards stepped in and ushered the children farther down the hall to where it emptied into a large room. That's where they were officially taught their first English word in their new school. It was actually a long word that Direhik had trouble remembering, but they were told they could simply call it a "gym."

All of the children repeated the word once, then several times quietly to themselves. The Atrian woman speaking to them taught them a few more words before assigning them into their classes. Direhik wasn't assigned the same class as Eteri, and his hearts sank. The only thing that made him feel a little bit better was that the Iksen's son was in his class, and the boy did stand up for him, afterall.

They spent hours practicing English sounds over and over, which was why Direhik was so thankful when their midday break came. The children were escorted into what they called the "lunch room," and Direhik noticed how the children grouped themselves with their friends. He didn't have friends except for Eteri, but she was nowhere to be found. So he stood there with his tray in his hands and unsure of what to do next until at the far end of the lunch room he saw a hand wave at him. The Iksen's daughter was waving an invitation for him to join them, and he quickly accepted.

"_Eteri forgot her _backpack_ but told us to save you a seat,_" the girl told him with a gentle, friendly smile. He didn't know what a 'backpack' was, it sounded strange, but he was just happy he had people to sit with.

"_I'm_ Sophia," the girl said, still smiling at him. "_And this is my brother,_ Roman." The boy tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace as he winced in pain.

Sophia and Roman. Those weren't Atrian names. In fact, they didn't sound Atrian at all. The two smiled knowingly at each other before they turned back to him. "_We chose names the humans in the area would feel comfortable with, weeks ago. They'll make everyone else in school do it too, soon,_" Sophia explained.

"_I don't know any human names. I wouldn't know how to pick one._" Honestly, he wasn't sure he wanted to pick one.

"_I have an idea!_" Sophia said to him excitedly as she pulled out a book from her sack and opened it, scanning the letters. Direhik immediately recognized them as human letters, but wondered if she was actually reading them. When she whispered the sounds to herself as she looked through it, there was no doubt she was reading them. His shock must have been all over his face because Roman told him, "Sophia's_ so curious about the humans._" He didn't seem happy about it at all. Direhik couldn't blame him.

Sophia rolled her eyes and continued through the book while Eteri came to the table. "_Oh, good. They found you,_" she said as she took a seat close to Roman, offering him a leaf to eat. It was then that she lifted his shirt revealing his bandaged side. She pulled half the bandage away, removed the leaf that was there and replaced it with a new leaf, and then sealed the bandage back to his skin.

"_Here!_" Sophia exclaimed, tapping a finger to one of the pages. Her eyes looked up at him with a bright smile. "_What about Drake?_"

She said his name, although pronounced badly, and he had the urge to ask, "What about me?" but then remembered she was looking for a human name for him.

"_Is that another human name?_" Eteri asked her, rolling her eyes while continuing to dote on Roman.

Sophia nodded but ignored Eteri's reaction. She turned the book so that the page faced Direhik and pointed to the name. D-r-a-k-e. Those letters spelled a name that was close to his own. He could live with that. Besides, the girl was kind enough to look for it for him and she looked so excited and proud of herself.

"_Okay, then. My name is_ Drake."

* * *

_In the show, Drake and Teri seemed to have a close friendship that didn't seem completely tied to Roman, as though they'd been friends for a long while. This was what I came up with to explain that friendship._


	4. I'm All That's Left

"Well, Tom, it's definitely not what we here in Louisiana are used. Looks like it's a dry summer for us!" The newswoman flashed her bubbly, toothy smile at the camera. Just a few minutes ago, the camera's focus was on the weatherman who'd predicted at least another week of low humidity. It meant that the Atrians would be miserable for at least another week.

As the woman on the tv screen continued to smile and talk in her effervescent voice about whatever was happening with the humans in the town of Edendale, Drake decided that he didn't like that human woman. Her smile was just as forced as all of the smiles his mother had given since the Crash, but this woman didn't have the excuse of being blamed for the death of her husband and so many of others. She didn't have the excuse of crossing the galaxies for a fresh start only to end up confined by a species that despised her. She didn't have to live with the Crash.

The Crash. He had to remember that they were supposed to call it "Arrival day." Still, most Atrians continued to call it "_the Crash_" when they spoke Sondiv.

Pouring water shifted his attention to Sophia refilling the boiling pot In the kitchen area. Drake sighed, wishing they could go outside to dance in the spray of the hydrants, but they couldn't. As dry as it was, they were given restrictions to conserve water. Some said that humans weren't too happy about it because it meant they couldn't water the yard plants, the ones they called grass. No, Atrians were allowed to turn on the hydrants before the sun came up and after the sun went down for only fifteen minutes at a time.

Drake rolled onto his back and groaned at having to stay indoors. Never the type of child to stay in one place for very long, he was desperate to go out and play.

It wasn't fair. Edendale had always been comfortably humid like the rest of Louisiana, but unusually dry weather had settled into the state for almost a month into the summer. The air caused the Atrians' skin to dry in minutes outside, and the Louisiana sun, without the protection of moisture, did things to Drake's people, ugly things.

Sophia walked away from the stove and turned the knob on the tv to a different channel. A bunch of human children filled the screen and started talking about school and friends and dates, and Drake groaned again. "_Do we have to watch that crap?_"

There was a hard smack at the back of his head, and he turned to see Teri glaring at him with that look, the one that said he wasn't thinking of others' feelings. When he looked back at Sophia, her eyes were glistening with forming tears and her lip stuck out just a little.

"I like this show," she said to him softly, using as much of her strength to hold back those tears. He felt awful. Sure, it was easy to give Roman and Teri a hard time, they could give as good as they got, but Sophia was a sensitive soul. Her feelings were always out there for everyone to see and for anyone to hurt.

"_I'm sorry,_" was all he could think to say. If he were Teri, he would have found some gesture to ease the apology in, or if he were Roman, he would have found the right words to soothe her bruised emotions, but Drake was Drake. If he couldn't pummel his way out of something, it confused him. So his simple apology was all anyone could hope for.

Fortunately, it was enough. Sophia smiled widely even as a tear managed to break free. It rolled over the marking on her cheek, and the dark patch of skin started to glow from the moisture. Just then, without any warning, she grabbed him into a big hug; Sophia was prone to do that.

Tensions settled down again, and Sophia released him just as the last commercial ended and her show began again. She seemed in a trance as she watched the humans speak loudly and look silly and do dumb things, and Drake couldn't understand her interest in them.

Drake groaned again as he laid on the floor and turned to Roman and Teri who were laying close together. They were always close together. Sometimes, though, Drake had the feeling that it was more her wish than his to be so close.

"_Want to go to the House of Cards?_" he asked them both, just hoping for a change in environment, hoping they were willing to do something other than lay around in a pod watching humans on tv.

Teri shook her head and eyed Roman. Roman turned to Drake and shrugged to tell him he didn't care, but Drake knew what was really happening. Teri wanted to stay close to Roman, and Roman didn't want to side against her and start a fight. "We should stay here with Sophia and keep the pot boiling," Roman finally said, and it brought a grin to Teri's face.

"_If we leave, you won't have to boil the pot,_" he countered, but the look on Teri's face told him all he needed to know. She wasn't going to budge and Roman, ever the peacemaker, was going to avoid a fight for as long as he could. With a disgusted grunt, Drake got up to go. If staying in Roman's pod meant he would have to watch humans on the tv and Teri curl up beside Roman with the goofy look on her face, he might as well go home and watch his own pot of water boil.

Just as he made it to the door, the Iksen opened it and stepped into the pod. His skin looked dry and wrinkled, and Drake wondered how long he'd been outside for it to effect him so badly. Regardless, he greeted the man with a warm, "_Yakson, Iksen!_"

The man's browns dipped down and his lips pressed together in disapproval, Drake corrected himself. "Hello…hi."

He often forgot the Iksen's rule that only English was to be spoken in his pod. Roman's mother, Maya, didn't feel as passionately about it, but she agreed to the rule because it was so important to him. Although, most times she wouldn't enforce it unless he was home, and Drake's mother didn't care which language he spoke.

"Hi, Drake. How's your mother?"

"She's well," Drake answered. It was the best answer he could think to give. The common response was "fine," but his mother wasn't fine. She hadn't been fine since the cra…Arrival Day.

"Good." The Iksen smiled and walked to the back rooms of the pod.

"Bye," he gave a goodbye nod to Roman, Teri, and Sophia, or whoever happened to be paying attention before leaving the pod and having a blast of hot, dry air hit him like a wall he'd walked into. He closed the door quickly so that he wouldn't let any more of the built-up moisture inside the pod out, but he started to wonder if he'd made a mistake leaving. It felt so comfortable inside.

But he was already out and had to trod along the walkways and stairs, feeling his muscles weaken and his skin tighten so badly that they were starting to ache and crack with each movement. When he made it to the door of his pod, he smiled to himself while placing his key in the lock, imagining how beautifully humid it would be inside, just like Roman's pod.

It wasn't.

His mother wasn't home, and so there was no pot of boiling water and no humidity to soothe his skin and aching muscles.

If only they could have one of those humidifiers that they'd heard humans had, machines that sprayed water into the air, but the Iksen was told that it would be too expensive to buy each family a humidifier. They were told it was better and cheaper to boil water.

It may have been cheaper, but it wasn't better. Someone had to be there to watch that the pot didn't boil dry. Not to mention they couldn't use the central air conditioners to cool their pods because it would only make their air drier, and the added heat from boiling water already made the temperature uncomfortable. Although it still wasn't as uncomfortable as the dry air.

Quickly, he took the biggest pot he and his mother had and filled it with water before sliding it onto the stove top. It couldn't boil fast enough, but when it finally did, Drake hovered over it for the blast of steam that came up in waves. He didn't care that his face felt like it was going to burn off or that the marking on his face lit up like those Christmas trees he saw on tv. The moisture was welcome all the same.

Outside the door to his pod, he heard voices and one of them was his mother.

He pressed his ear to the door to hear them a little better. Having finally boiled the water and what precious little moisture had accumulated, he decided not to open the door and find out who she was talking to and why they were talking outside.

As far as he could hear with his ear pressed to the door, she was upset about something, or maybe she was upset with the person she was talking to. He couldn't tell. Their voices raised once more before the lock clicked open.

Drake jumped back just as his mother opened the door. There was a puzzled look on her weathered face, trying to figure something out as she looked at him. As she closed the door, just before it closed fully, Drake glimpsed the Iksen's brother walking away.

"_How long have you been here?_" she asked him, her eyes darting towards the pot on the stove.

"_Just got back and started the water,_" he said with a bright smile, trying to prove to her that he could manage on his own, that he was older and didn't need his mother helping him with every little thing.

Whatever had made her angry melted away as she cupped her hand along the side of his face. "_Good, because this pod could use some moisture,_" she said while giving him one of those not so happy smiles.

* * *

He was dreaming of Atria, of his home with his father still alive and his mother smiling brightly. It was one of her true smiles and even in his dream he felt content to finally see it it again.

If only it could have lasted a little bit longer, but there was a pounding at the door to their pod. By the time Drake and his mother reached the front area, the door burst open and SEU guards poured through with their guns raised. "Saroya! Hands up!"

His mother was as confused as he was, but she obediently raised her hands above her head and let one of the guards slide in back of her. The human man took his mother's wrists and restrained them before pushing her towards the door.

Drake was paralyzed with fear and confusion, but when he saw his mother being pushed away, that they were taking her away from him, he rushed at the guard that held his mother's wrists and started to punch and kick. Another guard separated from the others and held Drake's arms back, pinning then with one arm while the other wrapped around his throat. But the guard didn't have enough arms to keep him from screaming.

"_Mother!_"

"Drake, no!" his mother yelled, straining against the hold of her guard, and Drake barely heard her over his own voice.

"_Direhik,_" she pleaded with him to calm down, and when he reluctantly did, she tried to give him one of her true smiles to reassure him. She couldn't do it, so she tried to calm him with words. "_You are my brave warrior._" Her words to him were gentle and emotional and telling him to be strong. They were suppose to prepare him for a life without her, but he didn't want to be brave if it meant being without her, so he continued to struggle against the guard holding him while they hauled his mother out of the pod.

When most of the guards left, the elder of the Vwasak tribe stepped in and nodded to the guard holding Drake who then released him and walked out of the pod as well. Drake was ready to side-step the elder, rush out of the pod to get his mother back, but the elder was quicker than expected. The man anticipated every move he made for the door until Drake eyed him for a weakness.

"_You'll find no weakness in me, boy. There's a reason I've been chosen elder of the Vwasak._"

"_But my mother!_"

"_You mother has done something unforgivable and must be punished for it._"

Drake didn't know if the elder was talking about whatever it was the guards took her away for, or if he was talking about the Crash. It was always a question when his people spoke of his mother.

"_We will make things better for you. We will find a family for you to stay with until you come of age and—_"

"_No!_" Drake yelled as loudly as his lungs could manage with his fists balled and his eyes hard on the elder. "_It won't be better and I won't stay with a family. I want my mother back!_"

All he had left was his mother, and they took that away from him. There was nothing they could say or do to make it better other than bring her back to him. He didn't care what she did; she was his mother. And without her, he was all alone

* * *

_For anyone who didn't catch it in the show, Saroya was crated 2 years after the crash which puts Drake at about 8 yo._


End file.
